FriYAY and Italian Meatballs

Hello, hello! It’s FriYAY! I’m ready for the weekend because it means I get to hang out with my husband. His new job has him going in at 6:00 am so he goes to bed a lot earlier than I do right now. I am soooo ready to get a job. I’ve had a few promising interviews and started working with a staffing agency. The HR rep and I had a great conversation and she said based on my resume, I won’t be stuck at home for long. Please don’t get me wrong, I was very grateful last week to not have to work and to get the house in order. However, this week, it’s wearing on me. I’m ready for something challenging and some social interaction.  I know some morning when I’m commuting, I’ll probably think , ” Geez..I wish I could stay at home all day like I did last month!” but for right now…it’s not my thing. Unless I could stay at home and work…now that would be fantastic. Then Deuce and I could hang out all day like we do now. He’s limping for some reason. I’m hoping I don’t have to bring him into the vet but he seems to be managing better than he was yesterday.

Since I am at home, I’m doing all of the cooking lately. My lack of domestic skills has been a joke among my friends (and family) for a long time. I’ve never liked cooking. But about 10 years ago, I started eating healthy and started cooking more. I still don’t love it but I like knowing exactly what I’m eating and knowing every ingredient. I find a lot of recipes from Paleomg, Paleorunningmomma, and Pinterest. Last night I made Italian meatballs. I had 2 or 3 meatball recipes and ended up combining them to come up with this one. This is an awesome recipe if you want something low carb or if you’re doing the Whole 30. I completed a Whole 30 a little over a year ago. Have you ever heard of it? You eat REAL FOOD. No added sugars, no gluten, no grains, no dairy, and no alcohol for 30 days. It’s tough and requires planning  but you feel amazing. Thanks to doing that, I learned some things my body definitely doesn’t like. I want to do another one but will probably wait until after Christmas. I have a girls trip planned with my college friends and I don’t want to be on Whole 30 during that time. I may want a cocktail!

Whether or not you are aiming to eat healthy, this is recipe is a great way to sneak some veggies into your diet. I’ve even gotten my stepkids to eat this! Of course, they’re going to read this and realize I tricked them into eating veggies….so that may have backfired on me. Last night my stepson’s Cross Country Team qualified for the state meet in Iowa! That’s the first time that the boys have qualified for state! He got 6th place overall and I am so proud of him (and his teammates!) This is his first year he went out for cross country so it’s pretty amazing how well he has done.

Oh- I also wanted to say thank you for all of the positive comments and messages I’ve received for my last post regarding not having any kiddos. I really wasn’t expecting anything so every comment made me feel like a million bucks!

Have a great weekend and go make this recipe!

 

Italian Meatballs

Ingredients for Meatballs:
1 pound ground beef
1 egg
1 cup chopped spinach
1/3 cup almond flour
1 tsp minced garlic
1 TBSP Basil
2 tsp oregeno
salt and pepper to taste
Optional: 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese topping (omit this if you’re doing Whole 30)

 

Ingredients for Sauce
28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
1-2 tsp garlic
1 TBSP Italian seasoning

Directions: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Mix the ingredients for the meatballs together in a bowl. I use a Kitchenaid mixer but you don’t have to. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup scoop some of the meat mixture out and divide into 2 meatballs. This should make between 20-24 meatballs. Place in a glass baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes. While the meatballs are baking, add the sauce ingredients into sauce pan on medium heat. When the sauce begins to bubble, reduce the heat and simmer until the meatballs are done. Serve with pasta, (unless you’re on Whole 30!)  spaghetti squash or even just cauliflower rice. Or be like me and eat them on their own because I forget to make a side…

Note: The leftovers of this recipe are awesome!

 

 

 

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